BasketBlog: Appalachian State

9;14 p.m. — Good night from Fayetteville. We’ll pack up the Mini and roll the blog down the road for Little Rock tonight. We’ll see you next from the final game for the War Memorial Press Box with the Miss State game. Kickoff is 11:21 a.m., with the blog starting at 10 a.m.

9:13 p.m. — Teams exchange free throws and that’s the ball game. Razorbacks win, 81-72, over App State. Powell closes with 29 to lead four Razorbacks in double digits. Clarke has 16, Washington 13 with 10 rebounds and 12 for Farmer.

9:10 p.m. — Clarke then Nobles dribble off 20 seconds, finally App State catches Nobles to foul and send him to the line. Gets both.

9:08 p.m. — Quick foul on Nobles 9-1 run to start overtime for Arkansas.

9:08 p.m. — One minute to play in the OT, and after the charge by ASU looking more and more like the Mountaineers won’t pull off the upset tonight.

9:06 p.m. — Wright gets App State on the board with one of two at the line, 75-69.

9:04 p.m. — Ill-advised double-team of Clarke leaves Powell wide open again. Mountaineers flash at the last second, but Powell drains his second three-pointer of the OT and its 75-68.

9:02 p.m. — Loose ball scramble on the App State possession that Clarke goes to the floor to scoop up; calls a time out to avoid the jump ball.

9:01 p.m. — Weak shot by App State and Hogs roar back up floor to finish with a driving layup by Washington. It’s a 5-0 start to OT.

9:00 p.m. — Clarke sets up Powell as App State goes to cover the school record holder. Powell is wiiiiiiide open and drains the simple three, Arkansas take the lead in OT, 71-68.

8:58 p.m. — Inbounds to Rotnei Clarke. Four seconds left, Clarke weaves to mid court, hits obstacles. Three seconds left. Crossover to veer to his left. Two seconds left. Feints drive to bucket, shoots the fadeaway three over two outrushing Mountaineers. Clarke staggers away from the shoot — could it be a walk-off game winner. Back of rim and too much to bounce in. We go to overtime.

8:57 p.m. — Pelphrey calls time out before the inbound. Neither team has a time out left as the Razorbacks try to avoid overtime.

8:56 p.m. — Josh Hunter’s step back three-ponter with 5.6 seconds left ties the game at 67-67. App State had chances, but swarming Arkansas defense left Hunter as the only option. Hunter’s first trey of night, and he’s one point shy of a double with 9 pts and 10 rebounds.

8:53 p.m. — Hogs run down clock, Clarke’s long three attempt is off and App State has one last chance. Butts backs in but misses the post move layup. Stephen Cox leaps in to pull away the rebound and draws the fifth foul of the game for Brand. Cox can ice things with 21.5 to play. Misses both.

8:52 p.m. — Teams trade groaning efforts (litterally through the legs of Butts for a turnover, then a too ambitious reverse layup for a miss by Arkansas). Foul on the opposite end leads to 1-of-2 at the line and back to three-point game, 68-65 with less than 80 seconds to play.

8:51 p.m. — Brand gets his fourth foul of the night trying to hold Clarke from popping out on the perimeter; Clarke rattles out the first, makes the second for the 68-64 lead.

8:50 p.m. — Sims hits his 5th three-pointer to cut the spread back to a possession, 67-64, ASU calls its final time out with 1:53 left in the game.

8:49 p.m. — Powell spins his way to the rack for his 24th and Arkansas gets a little space, 67-61, with 1:59 left.

8:46 p.m. — Wright’s driving layup draws a foul as we go to the final media time out of the night. State down to Arkansas, 65-60, after Wright’s score.

8:45 p.m. — Zone full court pressure after the time out, frantic defensive pace throwing App State offense off balance; Hogs get turnover but can’t convert.

8:43 p.m. — Washington gets two to set the moment, then Powell throws down HARD to bring the crowd to its feet. App State calls time out as the Razorbacks move the score to 65-58.

8:41 p.m. — Brand quiets the crowd momentarily with a three-pointer; Powell gets his 20th point on the other end, 61-56.

8:40 p.m. — Clarke with the steal, the break away and the bear hug from the Mountaineers (ever so close to being intentional) to stop the layup. Clarke gets both for his 15th point and a 59-53 lead. Hogs show token man full court pressure after the made shot.

8:38 p.m. — You didn’t just trip, roll the ball along the lane and still get the tie ball? Stephen Cox jumps to the floor to scramble for the tie and give Arkansas back the possession. Big jumper by Washington and its 57-53. Peterson calls time out as its a 6-0 Razorback run.

8:36 p.m. — Johnson gets one of two, Hogs get a three from Nobles to regain the lead, 55-53; crowd is getting loud until Farmer picks up his fourth foul.

8:33 p.m. — Brand gets the driving layup for the first lead for App State since the first minute of the game, 53-51. Razorbacks work the ball until they pick up the 9th foul of the game as we head for the media time out.

8:31 p.m. — Things getting a little antsy for the crowd as App State gets a layup off the inbounds to tie the game, 51-51, with 8:40 left. Crowd begins to make noise, and Pelphrey calls his third time out of the game.

8:25 p.m. — Media time out number two of the half. Hogs have used free throws for a 6-2 run to push back some on App State.

8:22 p.m. — Nobles picks up the ASU miss and slices and dices up the court for the driving layup to snap the FG string; Peterson calls timeout for App State to try to hold on to his team’s momentum.

8:21 p.m. — Fouls are mounting up for App State, their 8th of the half puts Farmer on the line for a pair. He gets both and its Arkansas 49-45.

8:21 p.m. — Clarke gets a pair of free throws, but App State takes that away with a field goal on the other end. Last UA FG was at 17:44.

8:20 p.m. — It’s been over 4 minutes since the last Arkansas field goal.

8:18 p.m. — Another Sims 3ptr — his second in a row — and its a 9-1 run to pull ASU to within two, 45-43.

8:17 p.m. — Out of the time out, Washington gets one of two to snap the ASU mini-streak, but rebound to Mountaineers.

8:16 p.m. — Since Arkansas’ last 18-point lead, 35-17 with 3:07 left in the first, App State has run Arkansas 21-9 and 6-0 in the past few minutes.

8:15 p.m. — Hogs have only shot the ball seven times so far in the second half (3-7) while App State not only has more shots 9, their hot hand (66.7%) is why they have rallied.

8:15 p.m. — Foul by App State sends us to the first media timeout of the second half and Arkansas leading by only four, 44-40.

8:13 p.m. — Sims three-pointer brings App to its closest point since the first minutes of the game, 44-40, and a time out by the Razorbacks — the second of the half.

8:12 p.m. — App State gets it under 10, and Brand picks an outlet pass to Clarke. His breakaway is stopped by a hard foul by the Razorbacks. Brand gets 1 of 2 and the spread is down to seven, 44-37.

8:09 p.m. — Washington gets the roll, but can’t put in the free throw; Hogs still up by double digits, 44-32.

8:08 p.m. — After an uncharacteristically bad first half of shooting, App State is shooting out of its mind to begin the second — 75% from field, perfect 2-2 from the arc and 50% at the line.

8:03 p.m. — That serious attitude leads to a quick 6-0 run dating back to the end of the previous half. Back to back buckets for Buzz’s team cuts the Razorback lead to 10, and John Pelphrey — just 49 seconds in to the second half — calls a quick time out.

7:59 p.m. — Razorbacks return to the floor with just over three minutes left on the halftime clock. App State follows out onto the floor. Now it’s the team in black that’s looking somber compared to the pregame seriousness of the Razorbacks.

7:56 p.m. — Razorback volleyball wins a marathon first set, 32-30, over Auburn for the 1-0 early lead at Barnhill Arena.

7:55 p.m. — Powell looking like he could get another double, which would be his second straight at Walton this year. Along with leading all scorers at 16, he also has 4 boards. Mike Washington leads Arkansas with 6 boards. The big man also has 3 assists in only 13 minutes played.

7:53 p.m. — Razorbacks continue to double ASU on the boards, 22-11, at halftime.

7:49 p.m. — App State only 23% from field, 27% from three-point range; while Arkansas is hitting 59.1% from field and 50% from behind the arc.

7:48 p.m. — Student Organization knock out contest beginning on the floor.

7:47 p.m. — Halftime with Arkansas up 38-23. Powell leading with 16, followed by Clarke with 11. Hogs holding ASU to only 23% from the field.

7:41 p.m. — Powell hits his seventh field goal of the night, pulls within a trey of Appalachian State, 19-16. Hogs have 37-19 overall lead.

7:37 p.m. — Final media timeout of the first half, Hogs hold 33-17 lead. Have now doubled App State in rebounds, 20-10.

7:34 p.m. — Two points for Arkansas in almost two minutes of clock time, both teams drifting a bit in offensive focus.

7:30 p.m. — Arkansas 30-14 as we get to the third media time out at 6:22 on the clock. App State has pulled ahead of both Powell (12) and Clarke (11), but the Mountaineers do not have a single player with more than one field goal made.

7:29 p.m. — This just in, App State is over 20% from the field with that layup. However, Arkansas is at 64.7%

7:28 p.m. — Washington takes it in the mid post, holds and dishes to a baseline cutting Farmer, laid in for Arkansas’ 30th point.

7:27 p.m. — Razorbacks just taking turns on App State, Farmer just took the baseline and now 28-9 for Arkansas.

7:23 p.m. — Clarke gets a breakaway layup before Webb hits he first field goal for App State in over eight minutes (8:31 to be exact). Razorbacks in total control, 26-9.

7:22 p.m. — Pair of free throws breaks the run for Arkansas, Clarke hits a three to make it 24-6 overall.

7:21 p.m. — Not unlike the last Razorback game, just a different player. Marshawn Powell leads App State, 12-4, at the 11:14 mark. Powell is 5-of-8 for his 12 points. Hogs hitting 58.3%; App State down to 12%.

7:19 p.m. — Long time between points both ways as ASU tries to slow the pace a bit, Washington hits inside to take the run to 21-0 and we head to the second media time out at 21-4.

7:14 p.m. — Clarke slightly off line, bounces up off the rim. Washington skies up to tap it in, then pulls back his hands to frame the rim in case. Second bounce and some Big Lebowski lane English from Clarke and the trey falls home — a 19-0 run.

7:14 p.m. — First trey of the night for 15, that pushes it to 16-0 run.

7:12 p.m. — The 10-0 run just became 12 as Powell gets the floater to fall plus the foul. Sinks the extra and it’s 13-4. Turnover for ASU and the roll set to continue.

7:12 p.m. — Meanwhile, App State is hitting only 18.2%. Back from the time out.

7:10 p.m. — First media time out of the game. Arkansas is hitting 50% from the field led by Powell’s 3-of-5.

7:10 p.m. — Powell spots up from the top of the key, nothing but net, for a 10-4 Arkansas lead.

7:09 p.m. — Hogs pounding it inside as ASU keeps a wide profile to prevent Arkansas’ outside shooting. As a result, Washington has already been to the line twice, he gets both this time (3-4 so far) and its 7-4 Arkansas.

7:08 p.m. — Powell stickback gives Arkansas its first lead, 5-4, at just under 17 in the first.

7:07 p.m. — App State crashing the boards hard, but the Mountaneers need to as they are shooting only 22% to open the game.

7:05 p.m. — Powell slices inside for Arkansas first two, Hogs trail 4-2. Razorbacks in a collapsing zone, App State looks match-up zone with a player assigned (keeps changing) with Clarke where ever he goes.

7:04 p.m. — App State works for first bucket of the game, 2-0 lead.

7:04 p.m. — Tip to Arkansas.

7:02 p.m. — Bring up the lights, let’s play basketball.

7:00 p.m. — Horn sounds, and here we go for the visitors and the student section signs: Who Cares (Hunter), What’s that Smell (Butts), Who’s She (Abraham), He’s Cute (Brand), Big Deal (Sims), and the traditional Nice Hair for the opponent coach, Peterson.

7:00 p.m. — We’d like to point out, this is Walton Arena.

7:00 p.m. — Last time these two teams met, it was an upset in Little Rock for App State, 74-68.

6:59 p.m. — We are 60 seconds to tip.

6:58 p.m. — The starters for the visitors are Sims, Abraham, Brand, Hunter and Butts.

6:57 p.m. –Tonight’s starters for Arkansas will be Washington, Farmer, Clarke, Nobles and Powell.

6:56 p.m. — Appalachian State has played Arkansas only one time, but their fifth-year head coach, Buzz Peterson, is more than familiar with the Razorbacks and Walton Arena. Peterson (Tulsa and Tennessee previously) has a 5-1 mark against UA.

6:53 p.m. — National Anthem is finished and the formal Hog Call is underway.

6:48 p.m. — Very business-like Razorback men’s team makes its way down the team tunnel next to the blogspot in the media section. A lot of focused faces.

6:44 p.m. — Is that Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer from the band? Think that’s a first this year — Hog Wild Band has added a ton of new tunes over the past two seasons at basketball.

6:42 p.m. — Big crowd in the south entrance for a half-off sale at Hog Heaven apparel store. See the TwitPic @ArkRazorbacks

6:41 p.m. — The cheer squads head onto the court, it is 17:30 to tipoff.

6:35 p.m. — App State returns for warmups, both teams now on the floor.

6:31 p.m. — Just like that, Here come your Arkansas RAAAAZZOORBAAAAACKS

6:30 p.m. — All is quiet on the Walton Floor for the moment with both teams now back in their locker rooms, we just hit the 30 minute mark on the game clock.

6:22 p.m. — Speaking of Miss State tomorrow — do you have your tickets? Keep an eye on both @ArkRazorbacks and @RazorbackRoad for tickets. The giveaways will be announced through Arkansas’ two Twitter feeds tomorrow morning.

6:20 p.m. — Don’t forget that there are two events tonight in Fayetteville as Robert Pulliza’s volleyball squad hosts Auburn tonight at Barnhill, also at 7 p.m.

6:19 p.m. — App State doing team stretching as the crowd starts to file in. The combination of a cold, drizzle tonight and many fans heading to Little Rock early for the early kickoff Miss State may hurt the crowd.

6:12 p.m. — Razorbacks have cleared off the floor from their informal shooting.

6:05 p.m. — Both teams on their respective ends of the floor. Interesting that several members of the ASU team have taken up seats in the east side Courtside Seats.

6:03 p.m. — App State came on to the floor first tonight, and has the whole squad out in loose shooting.

6:00 p.m. — Good evening and welcome to Bud Walton Arena. Tonight the Razorbacks look to continue their season-opening home winning streak with Appalachian State.